PhD Studentship in Quantifying Carbon Uptake and Release From The Land Biosphere Using Novel Tracers (PICKERSP_U26SCI)

Primary supervisor - Dr Penelope Pickers

Background 

Current projections of the global land carbon sink are widely divergent, because there is currently no robust method to separate net ecosystem exchange (NEE) fluxes into its individual components of gross primary productivity (GPP) and total ecosystem respiration (TER). Understanding the changing behaviour of GPP and TER is key to predicting future carbon uptake/release by the land biosphere, since each process responds differently to variability and climatic change. 

Novel atmospheric tracer measurements may provide new insight into GPP and TER partitioning, but measurements are currently limited.

Research Methodology 

You will use new measurements of two atmospheric tracers to investigate partitioning of NEE fluxes: 

Carbonyl sulphide (COS), which is absorbed by plants through the same stomatal and enzymatic pathways as CO2 and can be used as a tracer for terrestrial photosynthetic uptake (Whelan et al., 2018, 10.5194/bg-15-3625-2018). 

Concurrent measurements of atmospheric oxygen (O2) and CO2. Recent work (e.g. Faassen et al., 2023, 10.5194/acp-23-851-2023; Yan et al., 2023, 10.5194/bg-20-4087-2023) has demonstrated that it is possible to use O2 and CO2 exchange ratios (ERs) to separate NEE signals into GPP and TER components. 

Data will be collected from the Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory in Norfolk, and using the ‘OXYMOBILE’ mobile laboratory for atmospheric science, to measure O2, CO2 and COS fluxes in forest environments. 

We will provide extensive 1-to-1 training in: 

High-precision atmospheric O2, CO2 and COS measurements using state-of-the-art fuel cell and spectroscopic analysers. 

Programming (e.g., R, Python) and machine learning for advanced atmospheric time-series analyses. 

Skills for presenting research at conferences and writing peer-reviewed papers. 

Attendance at summer schools, such as the National Centre for Atmospheric Science summer school, will provide additional networking opportunities. 

This PhD project is in a competition for a Faculty of Science funded studentship. Funding is available to UK applicants and comprises ‘home’ tuition fees and an annual stipend for 3 years.

Person Specification  We seek an enthusiastic team player with a strong interest in the carbon cycle and climate change, self-motivation and numerical skills. 

Entry requirements A 2.1 honours BSc degree (or equivalent) in Environmental sciences, physics, chemistry, natural sciences, engineering, or another subject in a similar area.

Mode of study Full-time

Start date 1 October 2026

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